Sharp rise in self-harm calls to ChildLine

There has been a sharp rise in the number of children contacting ChildLine
about self-harm as campaigners called for websites glamorising the issue to
be shut down.

By Wesley Johnson, Home Affairs Correspondent

6:00AM GMT 05 Dec 2012

The sites prey on children’s insecurities and have no place on the internet, the charity warned.

Some 16,264 children, mainly 13 to 16-year-olds, contacted ChildLine with worries about self-harm last year, up 68% from 2010/11, with the number of calls from girls doubling and those from boys increasing by a third.

Sue Minto, head of ChildLine said: “Websites which promote self-harm and even suicide really have no place on the internet and we’d support looking at options to deal with them, including shutting them down.